posted 12-22-2003 11:01 PM            

China Thanks Bush for Taiwan Stance

"China's president, Hu Jintao, thanked President Bush in a telephone call Saturday night for opposing any "words and actions" by Taiwan to alter its status, and again warned that China would not tolerate the island's independence."

**********

China Thanks Bush for Taiwan Stance

Washington Post

China's president, Hu Jintao, thanked President Bush in a telephone call Saturday night for opposing any "words and actions" by Taiwan to alter its status, and again warned that China would not tolerate the island's independence, state media reported Sunday.

The telephone conversation came as President Chen Shui-bian of Taiwan continued to ignore warnings by the United States and China against holding a referendum in March to demand that China redeploy hundreds of missiles it has aimed at the island.

Chen has pledged to go ahead with the referendum, which China considers a provocative move toward a vote on independence and the Bush administration has argued is a campaign ploy that needlessly raises tensions. Chen is fighting for reelection in a close race. The presidential election and the referendum are scheduled to take place on the same day, and analysts say Chen will lose if he gives in on the issue of the referendum.

"On the Taiwan question, the Chinese government is willing to achieve the reunification peacefully with its utmost sincerity and greatest efforts, but Taiwan independence definitely cannot be tolerated," Hu was quoted as telling Bush, according to the official New China News Agency.

The statement could be interpreted as an attempt to press Bush to follow through on promises made to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao during his visit to Washington this month. Bush rebuked Chen at a news conference, and a senior U.S. official said Bush also told Wen he was worried about "things going on on Taiwan in the context of a hotly contested election" and would "speak out if that is necessary."

In addition to the referendum, China may be concerned about recent remarks by Chen's rival for the presidency, Lien Chan, who has backed away from his Nationalist Party's longstanding position supporting eventual unification with China. On Saturday, Lien also appeared to reverse course and endorse Chen's position that there are independent countries on each side of the Taiwan Strait.

Lien and his party had condemned Chen after that policy was announced in August 2002, describing it as a reckless move that would make it impossible to resume talks with China. China insists that Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to go to war if the self-governing island of 23 million people formally declares independence.

The Nationalists, who ruled China before relocating to Taiwan after the Communist Revolution in 1949, have always maintained that the mainland and Taiwan are part of "one China" and supported eventual unification. But at a news conference last week, Lien repeatedly refused to endorse the "one China" policy, saying that he did not want to be portrayed as pro-China by Chen.

Another senior Nationalist official, Wang Jin-pyng, the legislative speaker and Lien's campaign manager, also said the party did not rule out independence. Other party officials said neither statement represented a change in the party's official "one China" position.

At a campaign rally in Taipei on Saturday, the Associated Press reported, Lien referred to Chen's position that there are independent countries on each side of the Taiwan Strait and said, "If you put it simply as each side has one country, there should be no problem."